User blog:Brady26/Council of Wyrms
The Heroes of Greenest encounter an old face from their past and are forced to make a choice, honour their word or face the Vengeance of Talis the White. Returning to the Council, the group reluctantly travel to an assembly of Metallic Dragons in the north to parley on behalf of the fairfolk of the world. Vengeance of Talis Following the message Darion received from Talis the White, to bring the Black Dragon Mask with him to the Raiders' Camp in the east, the group weighed up their choices, deciding that tracking a dragon in flight would be too challenging, they elected to travel to meet Talis and deal with her one way or another. Khez elected to stay in Greenest in case there where any more attacks and people needed help. Along the way they travelled through the forests where they had pursued the cultists and their bandit mercenaries over a year ago, finding Kadmos too had tracked the cultists that had planned the attack earlier on Greenest, himself having been travelling south to meet up with the group once he heard they were back in Southern Etan. Together they set off to the horse shoe shaped cliffs. In the middle of the camp they found a stick with a sack hanging off it, looking around for any threat they saw a figure emerge from the forest behind them, clad in dark armour and clutching a stone, advancing towards them. The figure identified itself as Vengeance, and removing its helmet revealed the old face of Wessic, the mercenary that had protected Talis at the Hunting Lodge. He demanded the mask be handed over to him on Talis' behalf, the White Dragon worshipper herself speaking through her vassal via a sending stone. Inside the bag the group found the piece of Darion's armour that had been given to Arveiaturace back at Oyaviggaton. The group claimed that Talis had nothing but empty threats, though Kadmos noticed that there were many eyes glowing in the darkness around them, that could belong to many kobolds. Talis claimed that she would not hurt any of the people they cared about, but rather would not step in to stop the destruction of the Hallowed Assault that was already being undertaken by the cult. Darion made a proposal, he would give Talis the Mask if they agreed to be subjected to a spell that would prevent them from speaking a lie, so that he could establish whether they could be trusted with the Mask. Agreeing to this, both Darion and Vengeance entered into the area that Darion's prayer conjured up to ward against untruth. After a back and forth exchanged in which each took turns answering questions, during which the others noticed Darion occasionally breaking into the giant language each time he was forced to admit he failed or broke some part of the agreement he had made with Talis. Vengeance himself asked why Darion cared about stopping the cult, Darion claiming grander ideals and a moral certainty that impressed the others, after which he no longer lapsed into other languages. Darion was convinced by Talis' words and he handed over the Mask, requesting that Talis open up a line of communication with him and that she was to answer his messages when he sent them, to which she agreed but grew frustrated at his many requests. Exchanging the Black Dragon Mask for the Frozen Sending Stone, Vengeance and his kobold minions left the camp, the group leaving soon after back into the forest. An Old Man's Armour Returning to Greenest the group discussed the possibility of tracking the red dragon that had attacked the town earlier, but Lukas pointed out that since it had almost a day's head start and with its size it could have a lair anywhere between Eldswall and the mountains in Thoruum, they elected to stay in the town, awaiting the funeral of Sir Alrin Tane. Duke Rengin and his wife Duchess Leria came to Eldswall, staying in the Governor's Mansion along with a host of courtiers and nobles. Darion went to see the Duke to pay his respects, Kadmos noticing that the Duchess seemed to not be taking the sombre occasion seriously and the Duke was amused by the Governor's fawning over him. A few days later Lord Protector Edric Tane arrived with his honour guard, beginning the funeral proceedings proper. Sir Alrin's body was brought from Tendown to a hillside tomb where a simple gravesite stood, accompanying the procession was a figure in Sir Alrin's armour which stayed very close to the body. As the service took place the Duke and the Governor said some words about the knight, though each focused on how the late man aided them in their endeavours, whilst Sergeant Markguth praised the knight for what he was and what he strived for. Edric Tane, said nothing and the body was placed inside the tomb, the armoured figure ever watchful. Returning to Greenest the group wait in the Fount Inn until a member of the Protector's Guard arrives with a summons, the guard leading them to the Governor's Office where the Lord Protector waited for them. He asked them what kind of men they were, stating that he believed his brother to have been an old fool, Darion answered that he sought to protect those he loved, Kadmos that he sought to understand, Lukas claimed he was a simple man with simple ambitions, and Rack demanded that Tane got to the point. The Lord Protector informed them that he was told to tell them that an emissary had come to the Council and that their presence was requested immediately, but secrecy was paramount. As they departed, the armoured figure stepped into the room, and Tane revealed that there was no wearer inside, indeed the armour was animated, a protector of his family that the first born was supposed to be. Leaving in the cover of darkness to keep the secret they had been entrusted, they set off for Grostere. Emissary of Silver Arriving in Grostere they are taken to the Cathedral's Rose Gardens where in a gazebo many of the Council stood in an enchanted area where sound would not leave so that privacy was assured. With them was a familiar figure, Elia the ally of the Unbidden that they had met in the Rimecost during their pursuit of the gold after it left Eldswall. She revealed herself to be a silver dragon, Otaaryliakkarnos, as well as a member of a council of metallic dragons that were convening to discuss how they should approach the escalation in the war against Tiamat, one of the issues being whether they should ally themselves with the fairfolk of the world. She had met the group before any believed them to be the champions of this alliance of peoples and would serve as fine ambassadors to her kin. She left the enchanted area so the council could deliberate, many agreeing that the group were the best option as most of the other members of the council had had conflicts with metallic dragons in the past, though the dwarves believed that no deal could be kept with dragons as they were greedy creatures that coveted their wealth. Darion, speaking on behalf of the group said that all the council held some greed, a message that did not go down well as he elaborated, stating that his group were not diplomats and that an alternative should be presented before they choose someone. Rack also questioned why this council was relying solely on them when he believed them all to have far greater resources at their disposal than just this group of warriors. Lukas agreed that he was no diplomat and asked whether there was perhaps another way in which their skills could be used. The council then asked the group to leave as they discussed the issue, informing Elia as well. As they left Kadmos locked eyes with the Empress of the Quel'Doran Empire, and he believed she was content with their arrangement, despite his inability to capture Nerovain. The group spoke to one another, details and realisations come to them as they pieced together what was asked of them. Deciding they wanted to know more about this Draconic Council they spoke to Elia who was awaiting the decision of the Noble Alliance. She told them that she had believed them to be worthy of speaking for this group and she now questioned whether that was true, Darion once again saying that they were not diplomats but warriors, though Elia replied that the same was true of her people. Deciding that maybe they should try, they went to the King of Grostere to inform them that they had changed their minds. Finding Sir Thimbane they were taken to a room where many of the Grostere delegates were arguing over who to send on this mission, though when Darion announced that they had changed their mind and would be willing to go, the King agreed and sent them to inform Elia. With Sir Thimbane escorting them through the cathedral to the gardens, asking what had changed their minds so suddenly. Arriving to Elia, they informed her of their decision and Sir Thimbane confirmed that it was the will of the Council that they go. Before their eyes Elia transformed into her Silver Dragon form and riding her on back they flew out of the city and she cast a teleportation circle and brought them to Silveridge in the Sang Valley far in Northern Etan. Ascending to the top of the great cliff that overlooked the village below, Elia left the group along atop clouds that allowed them to walk around. After a while they began to hear wingbeats drawing closer and soon they were surrounded by five ancient dragons. The Dragons' Demands The assembly of Metallic Dragons began to speak, starting with Protanther the gold dragon, who spoke of his desire to act alone without the help of the humanoid races though if they were willing to apologise for the deaths of his brothers during the War in the Silence. Lingrahven the brass dragon spoke of the dangers of the dragon masks and stated that they should be given over to them once the conflict was over to keep safe or if possible, destroy them. Elia, or Otaaryliakkarnos, the silver dragon spoke of her desire to work with the fairfolk, but that the dwarves of the Noble Alliance had hunted her kind, slain her niece and now wears her hide as a cloak, she wished the remains to be returned to her so she perform their funeral rites. Nymmurh, the bronze dragon, seemed to recognise Lukas and asked whether they had met before, and when Lukas told him his name was Temper, the old dragon claimed to have fought against the vampires of the Quel'Doran Empire alongside a man named Temper long ago. He seemed to content to ally with the humanoids, seeing the Unbidden and heroes like Lukas as worthy of placing their faith in. Tazmikella, the copper dragon saw the sword that Rack wielded, claiming that it was stolen from her long ago. She stated that it belonged to her and was hers by right, though Rack countered by stating that he had used it to slay cultists and their chromatic dragon allies, asking how many dragons she had slain, to which she answers sadly, saying she had killed hundreds of Tiamat's spawn in the war she has known her whole life, not just the one they have picked up in the past year. Darion stated that he could not speak for the individual members of the council and could not offer an apology, but they would take the requests of the dragons to the others on their behalf. Rack however was dissatisfied with the dragons and cast the sword he had been using for months off the clouds, telling the copper dragon to go and get it herself, insulting her in draconic. The only response to this was the gold dragon Protanther, saying that he knew that the humanoids would behave such, and he and the rest departed the group in outrage at the insult. Descending from Heaven A set of stairs descending down from the clouds emerged and the group began to walk down towards the town below, discussing what they needed to and whether the insult had hurt their chances. Reaching the ground they found the town of Silveridge quite welcoming and soon were set up in the Silver Drake inn. The residents of the town saw to their needs and never charged them for anything they requested, making many in the group wonder how they kept this lifestyle of relaxed servitude. The group discovered that many in the town bore evidence of draconic blood, with many referring to Elia as a godmother of sorts watching over them. Relaxing in the inn they deciding they would head back to Grostere and make the proposal to the Council, noting that the dwarves might be a particular obstacle to overcome. In the morning they were awoken by the sound of crowd gathering outside at a statue of a silver dragon, they saw Elia was there chatting with the crowd who were excited to see her. The group readied themselves and approached her, she said that she would return them to Grostere, telling them a little about the village and her duty as its protector. Arriving via teleportation circle, the group was taking by Elia to a farm on the outskirts of Grostere. She wished them luck and made one last plea for her nieces' remains to be returned to her. They set off towards the capital, leaving the ancient dragon on the fields of grains. Category:Blog posts